Category: Graphic Design

Brands and logos; are they synonymous? A person that isn’t business savvy might say that they are, but for your business to be successful, it’s important that you understand the differences between these two words. A logo is a picture or special colors and fonts that you recognize companies by. They’re the Target bulls-eye and the NBC peacock. If you were to show just the logo to someone from a foreign country, they wouldn’t be able to say much about them but when you show it to your friend, they’ll be able to communicate their feelings for the store and television network.

Brands leave a mark, they are not the mark. The logo is the mark. The brand is how the company interacts with its customers. It’s the feelings that you associate with restaurants, electronics, and cars. It’s certainly possible for people to not know the logo but know the brand quite well. If you have a successful brand, you can change your logo without many ill effects. Take time in choosing your logo and try to have it match the vibes of the brand you want to build.

Brands are made by clients while logos are made by companies. A logo alone, while pretty simple to obtain, isn’t enough. You need a brand, which is what will be built as you have repeated positive interactions with customers. They’ll return as repeat customers and drum up more business via word-of-mouth.

Logos illustrate, brands show a purposeful vision. You can’t tell much about Apple from it’s simplistic logo but if you know anything about the company, you know that their brand represents their vision for the future. They are hip, simple but sophisticated, innovative, and leaders in technology. But if you come from a third world country, you might mistake the logo as belonging to an orchard. A brand is built over time and with great purpose. You can always tweak your logo but you must be more strategic in planning how you want your brand to be recognized by future clients.

Brands protect, logos project. Logos give a visual representation of a company. Think of all the logos that you see in your favorite television shows. They are projecting their presence on the viewers. The brand is what protects the image of the company. Maybe someone views the logo unattractive, but if they know the brand behind it, and believe in it, they’ll probably give the company their business.

As you begin to start your business, take time to plan out how you want your brand to look a year, two years, five years in the future and make sure that your actions support those goals. Choose your logo carefully so that it fits with your brand and is a positive reinforcement of your business.

When preparing to buy new printed materials for your business, it’s easy to focus entirely on the design that goes on the page. Layout, lettering and print quality are all very important factors in getting great looking high quality business cards, full color flyers or any printed material, but they are not the only consideration. The strength, durability, and professional appearance of your printed materials depends on having the right paper stock for the job at hand.

Choosing the right paper stock can be difficult. There are so many different kinds, often with qualities that are not easily visible to the untrained eye. Relying on the expertise of a professional print shop can take the guesswork out of choosing your paper stock. Detroit Print Shop relies primarily on a 14-point UV-coated glossy paper stock that is ideal for many different applications. This versatile paper stock can be used for everything from printed postcards to business cards, and provides a great look at a low price. The 100 lb gloss cover is a very popular choice for flyers and brochures.

Detroit Print Shop also offers several other options for high quality business cards. Customers can choose from a 14 point premium uncoated stock or a 16 point Dull Cover with matte finish. Also, we offer a variety of choices for other applications. Brochure printing can be done on 80 lb Gloss Book or Recycled paper with aqueous coating, 100 lb Gloss Book or Gloss Cover with aqueous coating, or 100 lb Recycled Matte Cover with aqueous coating.

All of these choices can seem confusing and obscure at first. Detroit Print Shop’s free print samples make it easy to try several styles and choose what stock looks exactly right for your materials. Our cutting-edge Heidelberg Offset press makes sure that whatever stock you choose, the printing on it will look great.

With summer almost at an end, it’s time to start thinking about printing fall brochures. Designing a great fall brochure doesn’t have to be a trial, it just requires following a few simple tips.

1. Showcase What’s New
Many customers who receive brochures from a company are already familiar with the company’s general offerings. They may only glance for a few moments at a new brochure, so it’s important to catch their eye immediately. Graphics, larger fonts, and attention-grabbing placement are all ways to ensure that the fall specials don’t go unnoticed.

2. Emphasize the Season
Seasonal brochures are great because they allow companies to showcase their newest offerings, but also because they reassure customers that the information on them is timely. An all-seasons brochure may have been created at the beginning of the year and have gone out of date, but in late summer and autumn, a seasonal fall brochure looks fresh and relevant. Use autumn colors and themes, especially on the cover, and make sure the season and year are prominently displayed to take full advantage of this effect.

3. Use A Professional Printing Service
With the powerful graphic design tools and versatile printers and copiers available to businesses today, it can be tempting to try the do-it-yourself publishing method for a seasonal brochure. It’s important to remember, though, that having a hammer and level does not make someone a carpenter, and the seasonal brochure is an important public relations and advertising tool. Using a dependable print shop with a great reputation will make for better brochures with greater drawing power.

Detroit Print Shop offers only the highest quality brochure printing and competitive pricing nationwide. Brochures are printed on 100 lb Gloss Book with Aqueous Coating. With cutting edge technology and years of experience, the specialists at Detroit Print Shop have helped customers nationwide create brochures that are customized for each client’s needs at a cost-effective price.

While this may not come as a shock to many people, not everything on the internet is accurate, and that goes double when talking about things advertised as “free”. Free can mean different things to different people, so while some font foundries release their fonts as “free”, there may be limitations on what can and can’t be done with them. Even worse, some commercial fonts are listed as “free” on some sites when in fact, they are being, either intentionally or unintentionally, pirated.

What are the true costs of “free” fonts?

Font designers may place a number of conditions and licensing restrictions on their fonts. In some instances, the conditions are relatively easy to comply with, such as paying a small fee, or crediting the font when used. Some designers attach moral values to their list of conditions, granting free use for charitable and personal uses, but requesting a fee when used by corporations, or for certain types of industries.

Font “piracy” is another problem. It’s quite easy to download a collection of fonts with a commercial font, one that should not be redistributed without paying an additional license, and it’s even easier to unintentionally forward that font to others. Licensing terms and conditions that may have been originally included in a read-me file, or as part of the original software collection may have been lost along the way, resulting in unintentional piracy.

What’s wrong with using a less-than-free font?

You may unintentionally open yourself up to lawsuits, or worse, bad publicity. Even an unintentional infringement can earn the wrath of a font designer that has discovered someone using their font without permission. These misunderstandings can, at best, result in brief online commotion, however if you have used this font as part of a logo, promotional materials, or an advertising campaign, then the costs of redesigning these materials using a new font can be staggering.

The design element is crucial to any project regardless of whether it is a web site, print project or blog. One form of design that has been in existence for quite some time and often causes some confusion, is ornate patterns. So what exactly does it take to create a sound and beautiful ornate background? Here are a few tips.

First, it is vital to consider how it blends into the overall design – you should consider the overall color scheme. When downloading a pattern of some sort, there is no need to be leery or hesitant to edit and touch up the template. You are far better testing with the various color schemes to make sure it fits your purpose. A tight color scheme will drastically enhance the quality of the project.

The next area to focus on is the connotation of the pattern. It is of utmost importance the connotation of the pattern matches the overall theme of the project. After determining the primary imagery and feel, then you will be able to determine what kind of ornate is best to complete the design.

As mentioned above, few actually understand how to use ornate background effectively. There are times when an ornate background is necessary and other times when it should be excluded all together. Think about the context and overall theme of the project. Does it fit the scope of the project or would it look better without an ornate background?

The final tip to take into consideration when choosing an ornate background is depth. The straight texture of this design technique is a starting point. However if you really want to choose something that will take the overall design a step further, you need to add depth to create a more intriguing and appealing visual aspect.

When used appropriately, an ornate background can do wonders for a web site, print project or blog. Just make sure to follow the tips listed above to ensure all goes smoothly.

Business brochures can be a great way to let your potential clients know about the products and services that you offer, as well as your company. If you do a good job in creating the brochures, they can even bring in new business from people that weren’t previously familiar with your offerings. However, there is no point in printing business brochures if you don’t take the time and effort to design them properly and think out what should and shouldn’t be included.

Before creating your business brochures you need to define your target audience because this will help you plan out how you are going to distribute them. You might want to give them out to potential new customers, or you might just want to introduce your current customers to new products and/or services that your company is offering.

Different purposes will require different brochures, so make sure it is clear what you plan to do with them before you have them designed and printed.

Once you know what use you are going to use your business brochure for, you can start thinking of what information you need to include. You obviously want to have contact information for your company included regardless of the use of the brochure.

If you are trying to get new customers, you might want to include a brief description of the company and its products and/or services, as well as the history of the company. You want to make it clear what you have to offer them and why it would make sense for them to take advantage of your services. Client testimonials can be useful in gaining their trust.

Make sure you include information that is helpful and not just a lot of filler. You will want to make it interesting to read so that it will keep the attention of the reader.

Business brochures should be well designed so that they are easy to read. Make use of blank space. Be sure to keep the paragraphs short and include graphics and pictures to illustrate your points and to break up the text a bit.

Headings and a table of contents can make it easy for people to find just the information that they are most interested in so they don’t have to search through the whole brochure if they do not want to. You should also keep the design similar to your other marketing materials, using similar colors, fonts, and the company logo, so that your overall materials have a professional branded look.

There are a number of computer programs that you can use in order to help you design your own brochures. However, if you think this is a bit more than you can handle you can hire a company to do it for you. It is important that you have them professionally printed so that they are of high quality.

Combining the convenience of online printing with the quality and service provided at is a win-win for your business. Visit our website to learn more about business brochures and the other printing options available at the Nation’s #1 Online Print Solution.

Whenever any company or business puts themselves out in the public sphere, there is a good deal of planning and preparation that goes into making certain that the image that is portrayed is carefully managed.

One of the simplest tools used is the business cards. Almost all businesses have a card that is used to remind clients and potential customers of their basic services, as well as contact information. While this may seem like a simple process, there is actually quite a bit of thought that goes into creating a good business card.

Your business card should definitely include a few standard items. At the minimum, you should always print your company name, address, and contact information. This may include just a phone number, but could also incorporate email, fax number and even your website, if those are all viable contact options. If they will need to contact a specific person, include that on the business cards as well. This is especially helpful for those who receive a commission or otherwise work with clients on an individual basis.

After the basics, you will probably want to print the logo of the company on the cards. This can do a great deal for brand recognition and cohesiveness. Your logo should be large enough to be easily discerned, but should not take over the rest of the area. If it was originally designed for full sized display, it might be advisable to modify it slightly for a more appealing look on the business card format. The logos should maintain the same basic features, but smaller details can be left out to make the logo appear cleaner on the tiny card.

Once you have determined exactly what information to include, you will be focusing on the design of your business cards. This should reflect the look and feel of your company. If you offer high brow products and services, clean lines and fancy fonts are appropriate. For those that promote a high energy environment in their company, use your card to verify that. Bold fonts and liberal use of color could be suitable. If you want to denote efficiency, maintain a white background and very basic fonts with only applicable information. As you can see, there are numerous ways to get the feel that you are after in the design process. These are just a few examples.

Designing business cards is a basic service provided by almost all graphics and printing companies. You can, however, do the design in house and save on that cost. It is fairly simple to start from scratch in a graphics program. You can also make use of templates to make it even easier. Once you are ready to print, however, it’s generally best to go to the experts. They can quickly turn your design into a stack of ready to use cards. Trimming and boxing is part of the standard processing package. The best prices are found when you order a bulk amount, so keep that in mind.

Business cards can seem to be fairly straightforward. While it’s true that it is hard to get them completely wrong, you can have much better success using them for marketing purposes when they are more carefully designed.

Combining the convenience of online printing with the quality and service provided is a win-win for your business. Visit our website to learn more about the business cards and other printing options available at the Nation’s #1 Online Print Solution.

Printed material can sometimes have a life long after it leaves your local area. A lot of businesses stay local because of their lack of communication with people and places outside of their local area. But staying local also means that your business isn’t taking advantage of the expanded customer base available outside your primary area.

Most businesses want to expand their customer base, but are not sure how to do so. The Detroit Print Shop offers several tools to help every business, regardless of their size, advertise more effectively. Brochures are one such tool and should be used liberally. There is so much potential in a little pamphlet about your services and products. With the right images, a great slogan, an eye-catching logo, and the right description, a single brochure run could make a significant difference to your bottom line.

Brochures allow you to get your business out of the box so to speak, or the building, or the neighborhood, and reach people outside your traditional borders. Visitors who stop in may want a brochure for a souvenir, or may know of a friend who needs just what you have, or they may want to carry a reminder of what you have for future reference.

They can take your business material to people they know and a single brochure can often travel through many hands. Detroit Print Shop has what you need to make this type of advertising tool work for you. You can create something unique for your business, something that will speak the heart of your company in print.

Direct mailings with postcards can result in a steady influx of new customers. Small business owners in particular are always seeking inexpensive, effective ways to promote their business. Often, after trying a variety of methods, they find that the most consistently successful method is bulk mailing of postcards.

Postcards are a great visual means of reaching your target audience, and with the proper combination of images, they can be quite eye-catching and memorable. You will find that your clients or customers really appreciate getting information from your business in an easy-to-read format, rather than enclosed in an often-overlooked envelope. Some business owners have discovered that customers have saved their postcards because of the great visual images included on the front.

Should you choose to try a postcard mail-out to promote your business, consider using a mailing list of loyal customers, as well as those that have expressed an interest in your business. Often, it’s a good idea to include a coupon or discount code on the postcard, as a means of tracking just how many people pay close attention to and respond to the mailings.

You might actually find that you are surprised by the high response rate, and decide to continue to use this form of advertising as part of your ongoing marketing efforts.

Their quality printing can reflect positively on your business, for starters any good business knows that it takes some degree of advertising to ensure success. Sometimes word of mouth is enough, but usually it’s going to take more effort than that. Incorporating printed materials such as brochures about your products and/or services will help enhance your corporate image.

Detroit Print Shop is equipped to help your advertisements do what they are designed to do: increase your business. They offer online ordering and make it easy for you to select the exact look of your advertising materials. Here are a few key ideas to ensure effective brochures that will serve their purpose.

Consider the look and feel of your brochures carefully. They need to grab the attention of the present customers, as well as future customers. They should be colorful because this encourages someone to actually pick one up and glance through it.

To get past a glance, come up with a fun slogan that will have them reading deeper to see what your business is all about. A picture can say a thousand words, so include some good images of your products and/or services.

Be sure your content is offered in the right size; allow for the content to fit without being crammed and without excess space.